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The Syrian troops on Thursday thwarted an infiltration attempt by the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front in the al-Qalamoun region north of the capital Damascus, killing 57 of them, according to the state news agency SANA.
The Nusra fighters were attempting to infiltrate an area between the towns of Jubbeh and Esal al-Wared in the rugged al- Qalamoun region, said SANA, adding that the Syrian troops have dealt a strong blow to the assailants "which have been trying to re-establish a foothold in al-Qalamoun."
Earlier this year, the Syrian forces backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah militants succeeded to dislodge the radical rebel groups from all of the towns and villages of the sprawling al-Qalamoun region, located in northeastern Damascus on the borders with Lebanon.
Some pockets of the armed rebels remained in some barren hills of al-Qalamoun and have recently started to launch small-scale attacks against areas in that rugged region but the Syrian troops rendered them all flat.
SANA said the recent infiltration attempt would be the last one in the near future due to the heavy blow the Syrian troops dealt to the Nusra fighters.
Separately, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based watchdog group, said the Syrian air force carried out airstrikes against the rebel-held suburb of Arbeen in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus, killing 25 people, including women and children.
Tens of others were wounded due to the airstrikes and the death toll is likely to rise as many of those injured are in critical conditions.
The observatory report couldn't be independently verified.
The Syrian troops have been deadlocked in endless battles with an array of rebel groups, including al-Qaida-affiliated ones, during the country's long-running conflict that has claimed the lives of over 190,000 people since the crisis erupted in mid-March 2011. Enditem
